Monthly Archives: October 2007

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Thad over at the Beyond the Bottleblog sparked my interest in his recent quest to find other Washington state wine bloggers. In a post titled Where are the Washington-based wine bloggers, Thad lists four other Washington state wine bloggers, in addition to the two of us. Are there only six bloggers who reside in Washington state and blog about Washington state wines?

There must be more! Thad has been blogging for about five months now, just a month longer than I have. If you live in Washington state and blog about Washington state wines, please let me know. Maybe we can start a wine group in Facebook!

Those who know me well understand that I have a passion for Washington state wines and I’m also an avid Mariners’ fan. One of my all-time favorite Mariners is Edgar Martinez, whom I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of years back when I worked on the eastside of Seattle.

Those who read this blog know that I’ve written quite a few posts recently about our amazing journey to Red Willow Vineyardin the Yakima Valley. Imagine our surprise to learn that Gar had visited the vineyard too!

According to Red Willow owner Mike Sauer, Edgar and his lovely wife Holly visited Red Willow Vineyard a couple of years ago for a charity event on behalf of the Children’s Hospital. They toured the vineyard and picked Syrah grapes from Row 11 (Edgar’s Mariners jersey number), which was then made into wine by then-winemaker for Columbia Winery, David Lake.

Oh, and as an aside, 80 percent of Syrah in Washington state was propogated from cuttings from Red Willow Vineyard where, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the first production of Syrah grapes in the state took place in 1988.

Wine and baseball … and writing about it … combines three of my passions into one post!

Don’t missÂ Â Alexandria Nicole CellarsÂ Puget Sound Wine Dinner in Prosser on Oct. 6. It sounds like a great event for $75 per personÂ â€“ starting at the tasting roomÂ at 11 a.m., moving on to a vineyard tour and cellar tasting, and then back to the tasting room for dinner.Â

It’s Happy Hour all day long at Vino Bello! And that’s not all. Enjoy a wine tasting with Yakima’s Windy Point Vineyardsfrom noon until 9 p.m. ($5) and live blues-inspired music featuring JD Hobson. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, part of the proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Wine of Europe Tasting at The Wine Alleyin Renton from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Four wine samples, salami and cheese for $10 per person.

Saturday, Oct. 13

Let Vino BelloÂ bring you some California sunshine with a wine tasting of hip California wines. Try the latest cool wines from California wine country and mellow out to live country music of Charlie Spring. ($10)

Taste of Red, Columbia Winery’s premier wine tasting and social event will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on both days. Taste an extensive collection of red wine, including wine pulled directly from the barrel. Samples of northwest food will also be available. Admission is $20 per person ($10 for Cellar Club members) and includes a logo tasting glass.

Â Grand Opening ofWilridge Vineyard Tasting Roomnear Yakima over Thanksgiving Weekend (November 23, 24 and 25). Be the first to visit Wilridge’s organic and biodynamic vineyard oasis and Tasting Room on the Naches Heights, five minutes west of Yakima.

Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 2

Check out St. Nick’s Open House in Woodinville from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The wineries of Woodinville Wine Country open their doors for a single ticket price of $50. Some of the participating wineries are rarely open to the public, so don’t miss this opportunity! You’ll enjoy special tastings and specially prepared hors d’oeuvres to complement the wine. Check out Woodinville Wine Country’s Web sitefor a list of wineries and ticket information.

Hogue Terroir, the newest label from The Hogue Cellars, Â is worth a trip to Prosser in the Columbia Valley. We had a wonderful time visiting Hogue for its 25th anniversary celebration, thanks to the Washington Cellar Club. We were given an insider’s look at the winery, special library tastings and a delicious barbeque.

My favorite momentÂ came when I tasted a pairing of Hogue Terroir 2004 Malbec with goat cheese and raspberry chipotle. It was a taste of heaven! We also loved the Hogue Terroir 2004 Cabernet. Both wines come from grapes grown at Andrews Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills. Both were bottled with a screw cap “to ensure perfect aging and preservation of flavors as intended by the winemaker.”

Hogue Cellars was the first winery to scientifically analyze the effects of various bottle closures. In 2004, the winery released the results of itsÂ Screw Cap Study, which found thatÂ screw cap closures hold fruit and maintain freshness more effectively than natural and synthetic corks. The results of the extensive study were presented at the 55th annual American Society of Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) Conference.

If you have questions about screw caps and Hogue’s study, check out the FAQ page on the winery’s Web site. You can also read a series of articles about the increasing popularity of screw capsÂ in The Seattle Times.